


Family

by taniaterror



Series: Under the Moon [4]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: M/M, Werewolf AU, family stuff, ian and lip bonding, mickey meets his grandfather, part four
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-28
Updated: 2015-05-28
Packaged: 2018-04-01 17:11:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4028089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taniaterror/pseuds/taniaterror
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even as a werewolf somehow his life had become a fucking animated movie. Except he wasn’t on a mission to deliver medicine to kids suffering from diphtheria. And Mickey would have gladly traded his current task for the former.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this update took a while, but it’s here now. :)

The following night Mickey took off into the woods, deeper than he had been in a long time. He even had to mark his trail by scratching the trees with his paws so he wouldn't get lost. He felt like he was Balto, or something. Fuck, he even had the half-wolf part down. And didn't that husky Balto had a thing for have red fur? Mickey growled low at nothing in particular. Even as a werewolf somehow his life had become a fucking animated movie. Except he wasn't on a mission to deliver medicine to kids suffering from diphtheria. And Mickey would have gladly traded his current task for the former.

Finally Mickey came upon a small dirt trail. He tried to remember if this was the same one his mother brought him and his siblings to a few times in their childhood in an attempt to get to know their grandfather. The trail he was looking for led to a cliff with a steady stream flowing beside it. Mickey raised his head into the air, listening for running water. Sure enough he heard it and sniffed the air to be certain. He followed his senses and found the cliff he had been searching for.

It was quiet there, except for the stream. Back in the woods Mickey could hear all sorts of creatures. Owls mostly, noisy fuckers. Mickey even had to avoid a few bears on his path. There at the cliff, though, it was calm. And the night sky was so cloudless Mickey could see the stars and moon clearer than he did just a few miles back at home.  _Ian would love it here_ , Mickey thought.

At last Mickey decided to do what he came here for. He walked up towards the edge of the cliff and threw his head back, howling as loud as he could. After the first howl Mickey caught the noises of smaller animals scurrying to safety. He howled again. He howled for several minutes, until he saw glowing eyes appear in the trees below. Mickey cautiously made his way to the small meadow in front of the trees and bowed his head.

The growls started faint but grew louder and louder as a pack of wolves emerged from the shadows. Mickey took a careful step backwards and bowed his head again, assuring the wolves he didn't come here looking for trouble. The wolves hardly registered the gesture and continued to advance towards Mickey, and their growls turned into fiercely snapping jaws. They only seemed to relax when a man stepped out in front of them. He raised an open hand and the wolves immediately became silent.

The man was fully clothed but his jeans were tattered and his shirt was stained with dirt and grass. His face was wizened and stern but he looked at Mickey almost with familiarity. There was something like curiosity as well. Something about Mickey's scent made the man seem to recognize Mickey but he couldn't quite place it. Eventually the man spoke. "Who are you? Why have you come here, half-wolf? Show me your human face."

Mickey hesitated for a moment but did as he was told. When he changed into his human form he still kept low to the ground, crouched down on one knee.

The man frowned deeply at Mickey. The range of expressions that played out on his face almost made Mickey laugh.

"Mykhailo?"

"Hiya, Gramps," Mickey greeted with a slight smirk.

"What are you doing here? You know you are not allowed here."

"I need your help."

Mickey's grandfather snorted. "Why should I help you?"

"Because I'm still Natalia's son." Hearing his daughter's name again made Mickey's grandfather blanch. "And even though she's dead, she was still your daughter. Or did you forget that after you exiled her?" His grandfather contorted his face in offense and turned to leave. "Viktor…  _please_."

Viktor paused in place and released a long sigh. He gazed at the moon for guidance. "Come then," he said at length. "Come inside. And put some fucking clothes on."

He led Mickey to a camp with cabins. These looked different than the ones he and Ian were familiar with though. They looked more homelike, more permanent. There were other werewolves there too. Some were in there wolf forms, others in there human forms. This was probably Viktor's pack, his family - Mickey's family. The one Mickey never had the chance to know because of some ridiculous rule. And to think, they'd been here all along and didn't care what he and his siblings had been going through their whole lives.

"You all live here?" Mickey asked once they were inside what he assumed to be Viktor's home. "In the middle of the fuckin' woods?"

"You would have too," Viktor answered. "If your mother hadn't chose to marry a human."

Mickey rolled his eyes, but gave no response. A girl about Mickey's age entered the living room and handed him a pair of pants. Her eyes roamed over his body and Mickey instantly felt his stomach churn.

"Don't bother," Viktor said. "Can't you smell him?"

The girl leaned in on Mickey and sniffed. Her face twisted in disappointment and she stomped off muttering to herself in a different language.

"Yeah, I can't understand Ukrainian but I can still understand emotions so fuck you too, sweetheart," Mickey answered back. Could everyone smell Ian's scent on him  _that_  much?

Despite himself Viktor smirked. "You reek of him," he said as if he read Mickey's mind. "But at least he's full wolf."

Mickey rolled his eyes again and promptly put on the jeans he was given. He followed Viktor into a small dining room and sat opposite his grandfather at the table in the center.

"Terry doesn't know, does he?"

"Like I need to give him more of a reason to beat the shit out of me."

Viktor's eyes landed on the brand Mickey had, then on the scars scattered on his body. "He makes you fight?"

Mickey nodded. "He made mom fight too."

Viktor swiped a thumb over his lower lip apprehensively. It was a gesture Mickey had performed himself countless times before. "I tried to get her to leave him. I knew I could not trust him the moment I saw him, fucking human. But your mother-"

"It's got nothing to do with him being human," Mickey cut off. "He's just an evil prick."

"Why did you come here, Mykhailo?" Viktor asked, hoping to avoid an argument he already had too many times in the past with his daughter.

"It's Mickey. And I told you, I need help."

"With what?"

"What do you think?!" Mickey shouted.

Viktor sighed again but did not respond. He didn't know how. Here sat one of his grandchildren, desperate for assistance and guidance. So desperate he even risked is own safety in coming here. Though, it seemed he wasn't safe at all judging by all the wounds he had. Viktor suddenly felt guilty and wondered about his other grandchildren as well.

"Mandy turns eighteen soon, and when she does she'll get branded just like I did. Just like Iggy and Colin did. You remember them? Us? You're fuckin' grandkids?"

"What do you expect me to do?"

"Get rid of him, once and for all. If me or Mandy or my brothers tried to do anything, he'd skin us alive."

Viktor massages the crinkling in his eyebrows, attempting to stave off his growing headache. "Mykhailo…"

" _Mickey_."

"You want me to kill him?"

"What? No, why is this family so fuckin' murderous?" Mickey grumbled. "Just make him leave, make him stay away."

Viktor swore in Ukrainian before continuing. "This will not be easy."

"What, us running out one human out of town?" Mickey scoffed.

"No, changing our way of life after all these years," Viktor replied. "Combining our families."

"Why the hell would we do that?" Mickey wondered. "I ain't asking for us to become one big fuckin' happy family. Just need you to help us get rid of Terry and then we're square. I won't bother you for anything again."

"You can't ask me to become involved your life, and then not let me become involved in your life,  _Mickey_."

"Fuck!" Mickey cursed loudly. "If I had known how fucking difficult you'd be I never would have bothered even coming here!"

"I am not being difficult, you are just being stubborn!" Viktor bellowed.

Viktor and Mickey glared at each other across the table. They remained there for several moments, boring holes into the other's eyes before Viktor was hit with a sudden case of deja vu. He slouched down in his seat and a smile began to slowly bloom onto his face before he broke out into a wild laughter that freaked Mickey the fuck out.

"Are you fucking nuts, old man?" Mickey hollered.

Wiping a tear from the corner of his eye, Viktor gradually regained his composure. He steadily released a sigh. "You remind me so much of your mother." The remark caught Mickey off guard and he tried to remain as stoic as possible. "I bet Mandy looks a lot like her, doesn't she?"

"I guess," Mickey answered softly, shrugging his shoulders. Mandy did indeed look so much like their mother.

A brief silence settled over them before Viktor spoke again. "We will help you."

"We?" Mickey asked carefully. "As in-"

"The whole pack."

Mickey sighed vexedly and now he was the one massaging his eyebrows. "Awesome. Can't fucking wait…"

Viktor chuckled heartily and patted his grandson's shoulder. "I'm going to need some time to convince the others."

"How much time? Mandy turns eighteen in less than a month."

"Should be enough. I'll get them ready."

"Just like that?"

"Yes, just like that," Viktor answered. "We are family, something I had forgotten."

After their discussion, Viktor led his grandson back to the meadow. He knew his pack wouldn't harm Mickey for fear of the consequences of going against their leader but Viktor still wasn't going to chance it. He exchanged a look of farewell with Mickey before Mickey tossed off the jeans he'd been given and turned into his wolf form. With another look, one Mickey tried to convey his thanks to his grandfather, he took off and started on his journey back home.

* * *

"Fancy seeing you here," Lip said to his brother, coming down the stairs into the dimly lit kitchen. It was past midnight and Ian couldn't sleep. He sat slouched in a seat at the small table. The air was hot and humid on this particular summer night. Lip retrieved two bottles of water from the refrigerator, instead of two beers, and sat next to his brother at the table. "Would've thought you were out with your boyfriend, or whatever."

"He's not-" Ian didn't finish his sentence.

"He's not?" Lip questioned.

 _As if you care_ , Ian thought. He shrugged. "I don't know. We haven't really talked about that stuff."

"Is that why you're moping down here in the middle of the night?"

"I'm not moping," Ian said, taking the water bottle Lip set down in front of him despite himself. "I'm just thinking."

"Always a dangerous sign."

"Fuck off, Lip."

"Jesus, look, I'm trying alright?"

"Trying to piss me off? Because that's all you're doing right now."

"When did you get so fucking defensive, Ian?" Lip asked, taking a gulp of water before he continued. "Swear to god, you were never like this until you met this guy you've been fucking around with."

"Shows what you know," Ian retorted.

"No thanks to you," Lip replied. He was starting to get mad again but effectively calmed himself down enough to go on. He couldn't very well expect Ian to finally open up to him if he didn't give Ian the chance. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"About what?"

"Everything. You seeing someone. You being gay. Shit, you never even told me about that kid Billy, or Bobby, taking your fucking Oreos in the third grade until he ended up with a black eye and you were in the principal's office."

"His name was Blake."

"Whatever the fuck," Lip said harshly. "I would've handled it if you just  _told_  me."

Ian remained silent and only shrugged again in response.

"Ian, c'mon," Lip pleaded desperately. "You're my brother, my family, and I just realized I hardly know you." Ian met Lip's eyes suddenly. "And maybe that's my fault. Maybe I was always just too wrapped up in my own shit. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Lip," Ian murmured.

"Whatever, doesn't matter whose fault it is. Just don't keep me or Fiona in the dark anymore. If you need something, we'll help you."

Ian grinned crookedly at his brother. "Thanks, Lip."

"So who is this guy anyway?" Lip asked, attempting to steer the conversation towards a lighter subject. "Can't be anyone I know, I would've recognized his scent. But I can tell he's only half wolf."

"He's, um…" Ian wasn't sure how to describe Mickey.

"How about you start with his name," Lip supplied.

"Mickey," Ian said, his grin turning into a full blown ear to ear smile.

"Ugh, you're face is so gross right now."

"Shut up," Ian answered back. He thought carefully for a moment before he continued. "He was that black wolf we saw at the fights."

"Are you kidding me right now?" Lip asked in disbelief. "Only you, Ian, would date a guy who participates in werewolf fights."

"You're the one who took me there."

"Doesn't mean I'd ever actually be in one."

"Whatever," Ian sighed. "It's not like he's got a choice. He doesn't. His piece of shit dad makes him fight. Even branded him and his brothers. That's why I've been down here so long. I wanna help him but I don't know how, and I don't know if he'll let me."

"Sucks when the people you care about won't let you get close to them, doesn't it?" Lip snarked. When Ian fixed him with a pointed look he held his hands up in mock surrender. "Alright, alright, calm down. I'm on your side, remember?" Ian grumbled a curse at his brother but let him continue. "Maybe we can come up with something before the next full moon. Carry out whatever plan we come up with next time we're at the cabins, or something."

"Really?" Ian asked in astonishment.

"Told ya, we're family."

**Author's Note:**

> \- [tumblr](http://i-like-em-sweet.tumblr.com/) :)


End file.
